German economy growing but consumer spending on the slide January 18, 2010 FOREIGN demand kept Germany’s economy growing in the fourth quarter but consumer spending on cars and retail purchases has tailed off, the Bundesbank said yesterday. A dispute among government coalition partners over whether the country can afford billions of euros in planned tax cuts was calmed yesterday. Government members agreed to stop arguing in public [...]
RECOVERY AND INFLATION ARE 2010’S THEMES December 16, 2009 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOV HEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI UK IF 2008 was the year of the crisis, then the story of 2009 was recovery. Until March, this looked unlikely. Given the losses suffered by financial institutions during the financial meltdown, there were severe doubts whether the world’s banks and economies could bounce back. But signs of [...]
The man who could be chancellor plans radical changes for the City May 3, 2010 Allister Heath and David Crow pay a visit to Vince Cable ahead of the last week of the election campaign FEW politicians have emerged from the financial crisis with their reputation intact. Vince Cable must be the only one who has actually enhanced his, with his brand of left-wing policies playing perfectly to the shifting [...]
Shipping industry fears Copenhagen summit will agree on new green tax December 14, 2009 THERE were growing fears within the shipping industry last night that government ministers gathered at the Copenhagen climate change summit would impose a green tax on shipping. There was thought to be growing support at the talks for a global tax or an emissions trading scheme for shipping and aviation. The British government favours emissions [...]
Investors back RBS on bad debts scheme December 15, 2009 SMALL sharesholders in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bank joining a government-backed insurance scheme for bad debts yesterday. Some 99 per cent of minority investors in RBS, now 84 per cent state-owned, supported the decision to join the asset-protection scheme at a meeting at the company’s Edinburgh headquarters. The [...]
Jobless claims in US rise less than expected January 7, 2010 THE DOLLAR enjoyed a slight boost yesterday after the number of Americans making first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose less than expected. The US government said initial jobless claims increased by just 1,000 to 434,000 in the week ending 2 January, supporting hopes that the struggling job market is bottoming out. The seasonally adjusted figure [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 31, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES US BANKS FACE INSIDER TRADING PROBE Neil Barofsky, the special inspector-general overseeing the US government’s financial rescue efforts, is to probe allegations of insider trading among bank executives and their associates. Eight of the largest banks in the US received between $2bn and $25bn in October 2008 under a programme to prop up [...]
Wells Fargo sells $10.65bn in stock to repay Tarp bailout December 15, 2009 US bank Wells Fargo sold $10.65bn in stock yesterday to raise funds to help it repay the $25bn (£15bn) bailout it received from the US government last year. The move, which follows a similar measure from Citigroup, makes Wells Fargo the last of the major financial institutions to repay funding from the Troubled Asset Relief [...]
Web giants lash out at Digital Bill December 2, 2009 INTERNET giants united yesterday to urge Business secretary Peter Mandelson to change a clause in the new digital economy bill that could give future ministers sweeping powers to change copyright law. Facebook, Google, Yahoo and eBay wrote directly to Mandelson asking him to throw out clause 17 to coincide with the second reading of the [...]
Captain Ade: We wanted to play in honour of dead mates January 10, 2010 EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR has admitted the Togo squad had decided they wanted to play in the Africa Cup of Nations – only to be overruled by government officials. The Manchester City striker joined his Togo team-mates on the plane back home last night following Friday’s attack on the team bus which claimed three lives. Initial reports [...]